Genre - Student films

We were shown three different clips of other students films to give us an idea of how to represent the genre clearly and we had to point out the strengths and weaknesses in each one.


Student film 1
I felt that this opening gave away too much. In films it is not common to have a death in the first minute but is instead supposed to give a slight indication of what is yet to come. Instead this opening seemed more of a closed narrative as you felt that after two minutes that you had already seen what the film is about. However i do think that the use of music was effective and helped show the genre as it was quite creepy and helped set a mood. Also their use of sound effects in the editing and the heartbeat sound was very effective and it fit in with the genre.



Student film 2
I felt after watching all three that this was the most interesting however technically it was more of a trailer rather than an opening as it was again not an open narrative as you felt that you had already seen everything the film had to offer. Also the title of the film appears at the beginning when usually in an opening it comes after the names of the actors. The editing on this opening was good as it showed a montage in a way that reflected the horror genre and it was frightening to see how she was being followed by someone.





Student film 3
Although this film appeared to lack interest it was the only one that was an open narrative compared to the other closed ones as you felt that the storyline was going to continue once it stopped with a phone call and not a definite ending. The music was effective as it set a mood for the piece which was quite mysterious and eerie. This films weaknesses were that at the beginning the production company name and logo did not fit in with the genre of the film as it seemed poorly made with an inappropriate name. Also the girl actress smiles at the beginning when she is supposed to be dead which took away the seriousness of the opening and it became less intriguing.





After watching these three openings it has made me more aware of the fact that it is easy to unintentionally make it more of a trailer than an opening but it is important to make sure you stick to these guidelines and create an opening that does not have an ending but leaves the narrative open to make our audience expect more. What i found in these clips is that too much was given away and in all of them someone had died but in typical horror films unless it is not in a linear order and starts from the end it does not contain a death within the first minute and instead the main focus is on the titles and the introduction to a character. However it is vital to make it interesting without giving away too much which could become difficult but has made me more aware that it is important to meet the criteria in order to make a successful opening